4 Gas Monitor

Hey guys, I need some help here. My department is looking for a 4 gas monitor. Im not big in Haz Mat so I dont have a clue. Just wanted to know what kind your department runs and looking for one thats real easy to use. Thanks for your help.

RKI GX-2003: http://www.rkiinstruments.com/pages/gx2003.htm
We use them on my full-time job in construction safety. Durable, easy to use, has an internal pump so you can monitor a confined space remotely and it's relatively cheap (around $1,000)

My fire department has one of these which was purchased by the county with a Homeland Security grant: http://www.myitx.com/index.asp (It wouldn't have been my choice)

While the multi rae is a great detector, it is also expnsive to own and maintain. Also, it has a learning curve that the average firefighter would not care about. Yes, they should care. However, a basic four gas meter is fairly easy to use. If you are looking to low maintence and low cost, check out the industrial scientific M40 ($600). These are rated as 2 year disposable detectors. All sensors are guaranteed for two year and will be relplaced if needed. We switched to these from more expensive models. No longer do I have to buy new batteries or sensors. In the long run, they have saved us a ton of money.

The Confined Space teams and the first in Engines use the Industrial Scientific.

Maintanence cost on the Multi-Rae is not that bad. We have used them for several years with no issues. As for difficulty to use, I think they are pretty easy. I don't find them any more difficult the Industrial Scientific.

One of the features I like about the Multi-Rae is that I can hook up a little unit to it and it now becomes a remote monitor for me. I drop it off in a room/hallway and the laptop in the truck picks up the readings. The Industrial Scientific that I have seen, can not do that.

JBRescue: If you know more about the Industrial Scientific, I would love to learn.

As far as I know the Industrial Scientific cannot do that. I was thinking along the lines of more bang for the buck. In this day and age of tight budgets that is usually a driving force for most of us. We do not have the multi-raes. But we do have mini-raes and area raes on the hazmat truck.

4 gas monitor

gregsummit,
The fire department I am on uses the MSA Solaris with the battery operated pump probe. It is very simple and can take a reasonable amount of rough handling.
The county haz mat team I am on was given two MultiRAE's with PID by the State in our initial equipment cache. As stated above, the MultiRAEs work quite well for haz mat and are very adaptable, but I do agree that they are above the expertise one would expect for haz mat operations trained people.